I share my house with the husband (commonly referred to as Babydaddy) and two small boys (the penis people). Living with penis people is really messy and really loud.ferred to herein as The Dick or the H

Hey there! Thanks for dropping by lifewithpenispeople! Take a look around and grab the RSS feed to stay updated. See you around!

Autism Speaks….but is ANYONE really listening??

Thanks to so many of my kick ass friends, both those in real life and the ones that live happily in my virtual world, I know that today is National Autism Awareness Day. As usual, I’m perpetually late to the damn party….as I’d meant to have this blog done loooong before now. Fuck it! Better late than not at all, right??? I’ve been eternally blessed with some of the most amazing women that could ever exist in my life. We support one another, we battle life’s bullshit together, we offer advice (sometimes solicited, sometimes not so much). If I need to bitch and complain, I know exactly who to call (or send a pain in the ass long text message to).

I’ve always believed that God (or whoever it is that’s out there running this puppet show of life) blesses children with special needs with THE most special parents. Truth be told, not EVERY parent is equipped to deal with a child who’s battling a rare disease or blind or mentally challenged. He (or SHE) gives these particular children to the parents that will love them and help them in a million ways with every breath they take. And I believe this is true of parents of children with Autism as well. How do you battle something when there is so much that still remains unknown???

The tricky part of Autism is that there are still people, very small-minded people, who don’t even really believe it exists. There are some, people who I even know personally, who think that Autism is just simply a matter of an incredibly misbehaved child and a lazy parent who refuses to discipline their child properly. There are still daily debates as to what causes Autism and what course of treatments will help. There are endless battles to make sure that a child with Autism is given the opportunity to integrate adequately with their peers without prejudice. Because Autism isn’t something you can SEE, like a physical disability, people tend to view children on the spectrum as just “difficult” and “out of control”, instead of taking a moment to try to understand.

When it comes to educating people about the disorder, far too many are looking to place blame and unrealistic expectations rather than find a way to make a safe and happy place for a child on the spectrum to grow and thrive in a manner that works best for them. I don’t pretend to know everything there is to know about Autism. When your particular child is not Autistic, you tend to just briefly run through the general information available, paying very little attention to the actual, important details.

However, I’ve gotten to know so many moms, and so many of their awesome children, who have Autism or Aspergers. What I’ve come to see is that these kids are just regular kids who have the same need to be recognized…..and accepted…..and befriended…. They fight hard daily within themselves to try to make sure the world understand them….and their parents stand shoulder to shoulder right beside them, pushing harder for better education and acceptance.

And while I’m normally an evil, shrill of a bitch….I’ve somehow managed to create this wonderful penis person who is nothing but love and magic and happiness. He is friends with a gaggle of children who are on the spectrum. He is open and understanding and never, ever questions why they might play and interact differently than he does. His friends are just…..his friends! He embraces their differences and unconditionally accepts them for exactly who they are. At eight, he is wiser than people who are twice his age. He’s at the age where, according to the general playground hierarchy, it would be easy to fall into the peer pressure to ignore and taunt those who might be different. But instead he is inclusive and understanding and just seems to somehow KNOW that these friends just need him to be there for them without strings attached.

And so…..today……on National Autism Awareness Day, I am proud of my son. He doesn’t have Autism or Aspergers, but many of his wonderful friends do…..and he accepts them for exactly who they are! Don’t you think the world would be such an amazing place if more people…..especially GROWN UP people…..would do the same!